Hindu-Kush, which was occupied by the Alchon Huns, previously mistakenly regarded as an extension of the Hephthalites.[17] They were a tribal confederation and included both nomadic and settled urban communities. They formed part of the four major states known collectively as Xyon (Xionites) or Huna, being preceded by the Kidarites and by the Alkhon, and succeeded by the Nezak Huns and by the First Turkic Khaganate. All of these Hunnic peoples have often been linked to the Huns
who invaded Eastern Europe during the same period, and/or have been referred to as "Huns", but scholars have reached no consensus about any such connection.
The sources for Hephthalite history are sparse and the opinions of historians differ. There is no king-list, and historians are not sure how the group arose or what language they initially spoke. They seem to have called themselves Ebodalo (ηβοδαλο, hence Hephthal), often abbreviated Eb (ηβ), a name they wrote in the
Bactrian script inscription: ηβοδαλο ββγο ēbodālo bbgo "Yabghu (Lord) of the Hephthalites" He wears an elaborate radiate crown, and royal ribbons. End 5th century- early 6th century CE.[3][17][27][28]
The Hephthalites called themselves ēbodāl (
Bactrian script legend ηβοδαλο ββγο ("The Lord [Yabghu] of the Hephthalites").[31][c] The seal is dated to the end 5th century- early 6th century CE.[3][27] The ethnic name "Ebodalo", and title "Ebodalo Yabghu", have also been discovered in contemporary Bactrian documents of the Kingdom of Rob describing administrative functions under the Hephthalites.[33][34]
Kushans. To the Persians, Hephthalites are Hephtal, Hephtel, & Hēvtāls. To Arabs, Hephthalites were Haital, Hetal, Heithal, Haiethal, Heyâthelites, (al-)Hayaṭila (هياطلة), and sometimes identified as Turks.[8] According to Zeki Velidi Togan (1985), the form Haytal in Persian and Arabic sources in the first period was a clerical error for Habtal, as Arabic -b- resembles -y-.[36]
In Chinese chronicles, the Hephthalites are called Yàndàiyílìtuó (Chinese: 厭帶夷栗陀), or in the more usual abbreviated form, Yèdā嚈噠 or in the 635 Book of Liang as the Huá滑.[37][38] The latter name has been given various Latinisations, including Yeda, Ye-ta, Ye-tha; Ye-dā and Yanda. The corresponding Cantonese and Korean names Yipdaat and Yeoptal (Korean: 엽달), which preserve aspects of the Middle Chinese pronunciation (IPA[ʔjɛpdɑt]) better than the modern Mandarin pronunciation, are more consistent with the Greek Hephthalite. Some Chinese chroniclers suggest that the root Hephtha- (as in Yàndàiyílìtuó or Yèdā) was technically a title equivalent to "emperor", while Huá was the name of the dominant tribe.[39]
In
ancient India, names such as Hephthalite were unknown. The Hephthalites were part of, or offshoots of, people known in India as Hunas or Turushkas,[40] although these names may have referred to broader groups or neighbouring peoples. Ancient Sanskrit text Pravishyasutra mentions a group of people named Havitaras but it is unclear whether the term denotes Hephthalites.[41] The Indians also used the expression "White Huns" (Sveta Huna) for the Hephthalites.[42]
According to recent scholarship, the stronghold of the Hephthalites was always Tokharistan on the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush, in what is present-day southern Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan.[43] Their capital was probably at Kunduz, which was known to the 11th-century scholar al-Biruni as War-Walīz, a possible origin of one of the names given by the Chinese to Hephthalites: 滑 (Middle Chinese (ZS) *ɦˠuat̚ > standard Chinese: Huá).[43]
The Hephthalites may have come from the East, through the Pamir Mountains, possibly from the area of Badakhshan.[43] Alternatively, they may have migrated from the Altai region, among the waves of invading Huns.[44]
Following their westward or southward expansion, the Hephthalites settled in Bactria, and displaced the Alchon Huns, who expanded into Northern India. The Hephthalites came into contact with the Sasanian Empire, and were involved in helping militarily Peroz I seize the throne from his brother Hormizd III.[43]
Later, in the late 5th century, the Hephthalites expanded into vast areas of
Rourans, who had been collecting heavy tribute from the oasis cities, but were now weakening under the assaults of the Chinese Northern Wei dynasty.[45]
There have been several theories regarding the origins of the Hephthalites, with the
Altaic[54][55][56][57][58][59] theories being the main ones. The most prominent theory at present seems to be that the Hephthalites were initially of Turkic origin, and later adopted the Bactrian language.[60]
According to most specialist scholars, the Hephthalites adopted
Greco-Bactrian kingdom in the 3rd–2nd century BCE.[58]Bactrian, beyond being an official language, was also the language of the local populations ruled by the Hephthalites.[61][52]
Other scholars such as de la Vaissière, based on a recent reappraisal of the Chinese sources, suggest that the Hephthalites were initially of Turkic origin, and later adopted the Bactrian language, first for administrative purposes, and possibly later as a native language — according to Rezakhani (2017), this thesis is seemingly the "most prominent at present".[68][69][d]
In effect, the Hephthalites may have been a confederation of various people, speaking different languages. According to
Richard Nelson Frye
:
Just as later
nomadic empires were confederations of many peoples, we may tentatively propose that the ruling groups of these invaders were, or at least included, Turkic-speaking tribesmen from the east and north, although most probably the bulk of the people in the confederation of Chionites and then Hephhtalites spoke an Iranian language. In this case, as normal, the nomads adopted the written language, institutions, and culture of the settled folks.[61]
Relation to European Huns
According to Martin Schottky, the Hephthalites apparently had no direct connection with the European
Altay Mountains during the 4th century CE.[82] According to Amanda Lomazoff and Aaron Ralby, there is a high synchronicity between the "reign of terror" of Attila in the west and the southern expansion of the Hephthalites, with extensive territorial overlap between the Huns and the Hephthalites in Central Asia.[83]
of Caesarea (History of the Wars, Book I. ch. 3), related them to the Huns in Europe, but insisted on cultural and sociological differences, highlighting the sophistication of the Hephthalites:
The Ephthalitae Huns, who are called White Huns [...] The Ephthalitae are of the stock of the Huns in fact as well as in name, however, they do not mingle with any of the Huns known to us, for they occupy a land neither adjoining nor even very near to them; but their territory lies immediately to the north of Persia [...] They are not nomads like the other Hunnic peoples, but for a long period have been established in a goodly land... They are the only ones among the Huns who have white bodies and countenances which are not ugly. It is also true that their manner of living is unlike that of their kinsmen, nor do they live a savage life as they do; but they are ruled by one king, and since they possess a lawful constitution, they observe right and justice in their dealings both with one another and with their neighbors, in no degree less than the Romans and the Persians[84]
Chinese chronicles
Probable Hephthalite royal couple in the murals of the Buddhas of Bamiyan circa 600 CE (the 38-meter Buddha they decorate is carbon dated to 544 – 595 CE).[85] Their characteristics are similar to the figures in Balalyk Tepe, such as the right side triangular lapel, hairstyles, faces and ornaments, and reflect Hephthalite styles.[76][86] The Bamiyan complex developed under Hephthalite rule.[87][88]
The Hephthalites were first known to the Chinese in 456 CE, when a Hephthalite embassy arrived at the Chinese court of the Northern Wei.[89] The Chinese used various names for the Hephthalites, such as Hua (滑), Ye-tha-i-li-to (simp. 厌带夷栗陁, trad. 厭帶夷粟陁) or more briefly Ye-da (嚈噠).[90][91] Ancient imperial Chinese chronicles give various explanations about the origins of the Hephthalites:[92][93][94]
Da Yuezhi tribes", according to many later chronicles.[92]
The ancient historian Pei Ziye conjectured that the "Hua" (滑) may be descendants of a Jushi general of the 2nd century CE because that general was named "Bahua" (八滑). This etymological fantasy was adopted by the Book of Liang (Volume 30 and Volume 54).[92][95]
Another etymological fantasy appeared in the Tongdian, reporting an account by the traveller Wei Jie according to which the Hephthalites may have been the descendants of the Kangju because a Kangju general of the Eastern Han happened to be named "Yitian".[92]
Kazuo Enoki made a first groundbreaking analysis of the Chinese sources in 1959, suggesting that the Hephthalites were a local tribe of the Tokharistan (Bactria) region, with their origin in the nearby Western Himalayas.[92] He also used as an argument the presence of numerous Bactrian names among the Hephthalites, and the fact that the Chinese reported that they practiced polyandry, a well-known West Himalayan cultural trait.[92]
According to a recent reappraisal of the Chinese sources by
Weishu) as quoted in the later Tongdian, reports that they migrated southward from the Altai
region circa 360 CE:
The Hephthalites are a branch of the
Da Yuezhi, they originated from the north of the Chinese frontier and came down south from the Jinshan (Altai) mountains [...] This was 80 to 90 years before Emperor Wen (r. 440–465 CE) of the Northern Wei
Da Yuezhi, probably because of their settlement in the former Da Yuezhi territory of Bactria.[89] Later Chinese sources become quite confused about the origins of the Hephthalites, and this may be due to their progressive assimilation of Bactrian culture and language once they settled there.[105]
Overall, de la Vaissière considers that the Hephthalites were part of the great Hunnic migrations of the 4th century CE from the Altai region that also reached Europe and that these Huns "were the political, and partly cultural, heirs, of the Xiongnu".[79]
Appearance
Balalyk tepe, "especially in the treatment of the face". Termez Archaeological Museum.[107]
The Hepthalites appear in several mural paintings in the area of
The paintings related to the Hephthalites have often been grouped under the appellation of "Tokharistan school of art",
Balalyk tepe, in the depiction of clothes, and especially in the treatment of the faces.[107]
This "Hephthalite period" in art, with the caftans with a triangular collar folded on the right, the particular cropped hairstyle, the crowns with crescents, have been found in many of the areas historically occupied and ruled by the Hephthalites, in Sogdia, Bamyan (modern Afghanistan), or in Kucha in the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). This points to a "political and cultural unification of Central Asia" with similar artistic styles and iconography, under the rule of the Hephthalites.[113]
History
endonym
Ebodalo, "Hephthalites".
The Hephthalites were a vassal state to the Rouran Khaganate until the beginning of the 5th century.[114] There were close contacts between them, although they had different languages and cultures, and the Hephthalites borrowed much of their political organization from Rourans.[8] In particular, the title "Khan", which according to McGovern was original to the Rourans, was borrowed by the Hephthalite rulers.[8] The reason for the migration of the Hephthalites southeast was to avoid a pressure of the Rourans.
The Hephthalites became a significant political entity in Bactria around 450 CE, or sometime before.
Chionites (who arrived circa 350 CE) and the Kidarites (who arrived from around 380 CE), but recent studies suggest that instead there may have been a single massive wave of nomadic migrations around 350–360 CE, the "Great Invasion", triggered by climate change and the onset of aridity in the grazing grounds of the Altay region, and that these nomadic tribes vied for supremacy thereafter in their new territories in Southern Central Asia.[82][115] As they rose to prominence, the Hephthalites displaced the Kidarites and then the Alchon Huns, who expanded into Gandhara
and Northern India.
The Hephthalites as vanquished enemies (face down on the floor), and then as allies (seated), in the Sasanian Bandian complex. The inscription next to the seated ruler reads: "I am Hephthalite, son … the Hephthalite is trustworthy".[116][117] 459-497 CE
The Hephthalites also entered into conflict with the Sasanians. The reliefs of the Bandian complex seem to show the initial defeat of the Hephthalites against the Sasanians in 425 CE, and then their alliance with them, from the time of Bahram V (420-438 CE), until they invaded Sasanian territory and destroyed the Bandian complex in 484 CE.[118][117]
In 456–457 a Hephthalite embassy arrived in China, during the reign of
Persia
.
Around 466 they probably took Transoxianan lands from the
Ascendancy over the Sasanian Empire (442–c.530 CE)
See also:
Hephthalite–Persian Wars
Early Hephthalite coinage: a close imitation of a coin type of the Sasanian EmperorPeroz I (third period coinage of Peroz I, after 474 CE).[18] Late 5th century CE. This coinage is typically distinguished from Sasanian issues by dots around the border and the abbreviation (ηβ "ēb") in front of the crown of Peroz I, abbreviation of ηβοδαλο "ĒBODALO", for "Hepthalites".[29]
In 453, Yazdegerd moved his court east to deal with the Hephthalites or related groups.
In 458, a Hephthalite king called Akhshunwar helped the Sasanian EmperorPeroz I (458–484) gain the Persian throne from his brother.[122] Before his accession to the throne, Peroz had been the Sasanian for Sistan in the far east of the Empire, and therefore had been one of the first to enter into contact with the Hephthalites and request their help.[123]
The Hephthalites may have also helped the Sasanians to eliminate another Hunnic tribe, the Kidarites: by 467, Peroz I, with Hephthalite aid, reportedly managed to capture Balaam and put an end to Kidarite rule in Transoxiana once and for all.[124] The weakened Kidarites had to take refuge in the area of Gandhara.
Victories over the Sasanian Empire (474–484 CE)
Later, however, from 474 CE, Peroz I fought three wars with his former allies the Hephthalites. In the first two, he himself was captured and ransomed.[18] Following his second defeat, he had to offer thirty mules loaded with silver drachms to the Hephthalites, and also had to leave his son Kavad as a hostage.[123] The coinage of Peroz I in effect flooded Tokharistan, taking precedence over all other Sasanian issues.[125]
In the third battle, at the
Battle of Herat (484), he was vanquished by the Hepthalite king Kun-khi, and for the next two years the Hephthalites plundered and controlled the eastern part of the Sasanian Empire.[122][126] Perozduxt, the daughter of Peroz, was captured and became a lady as the Hephtalite court, as Queen of king Kun-khi.[126] She became pregnant and had a daughter who would later marry her uncle Kavad I.[123]
From 474 until the middle of the 6th century, the Sasanian Empire paid tribute to the Hephthalites.
Bactria came under formal Hephthalite rule from that time.[3] Taxes were levied by the Hephthalites over the local population: a contract in the Bactrian language from the archive of the Kingdom of Rob, has been found, which mentions taxes from the Hephthalites, requiring the sale of land in order to pay these taxes. It is dated to 483/484 CE.[3]
Hephthalite coinage
With the Sasanian Empire paying a heavy tribute, from 474, the Hephthalites themselves adopted the winged, triple-crescent crowned Peroz I as the design for their coinage.[18] Benefiting from the influx of Sasanian silver coins, the Hephthalites did not develop their own coinage: they either minted coins with the same designs as the Sasanians, or simply countermarked Sasanian coins with their own symbols.[3] They did not inscribe the name of their ruler, contrary to the habit of the Alchon Huns or the Kidarites before them.[3] Exceptionally, one coin type deviates from the Sasanian design, by showing the bust of a Hepthalite prince holding a drinking cup.[3] Overall, the Sasanians paid "an enormous tribute" to the Hephthalites, until the 530s and the rise of Khosrow I.[82]
Protectors of Kavad
Following their victory over Peroz I, the Hepthalites became protectors and benefactors of his son Kavad I, as Balash, a brother of Peroz took the Sasanian throne.[123] In 488, a Hepthalite army vanquished the Sasaniana army of Balash, and was able to put Kavad I (488–496, 498–531) on the throne.[123]
In 496–498, Kavad I was overthrown by the nobles and clergy, escaped, and restored himself with a Hephthalite army.
Theodosiupolis of Armenia in 501–502, in battles against the Romans in 502–503, and again during the siege of Edessa in September 503.[122][127][128]
A tax receipt in Bactrian for the Hephthalites in Tokharistan. Archives of the Kingdom of Rob, 483/484 CE.[3]
Around 461–462 CE, an
Alchon Hun ruler named Mehama is known to have been based in Eastern Tokharistan, possibly indicating a partition of the region between the Hephthalites in western Tokharistan, centered on Balkh, and the Alchon Huns in eastern Tokharistan, who would then go on to expand into northern India.[131]Mehama appears in a letter in the Bactrian language he wrote in 461–462 CE, where he describes himself as "Meyam, King of the people of Kadag, the governor of the famous and prosperous King of Kings Peroz".[131] Kadag is Kadagstan, an area in southern Bactria, in the region of Baghlan. Significantly, he presents himself as a vassal of the Sasanian Empire king Peroz I, but Mehama was probably later able to wrestle autonomy or even independence as Sasanian power waned and he moved into India, with dire consequences for the Gupta Empire.[131][132][133]
The Hepthalites probably expanded into Tokharistan following the destruction of the Kidarites in 466. The presence of the Hepthalites in Tokharistan (Bactria) is securely dated to 484 CE, date of a tax receipt from the Kingdom of Rob mentioning the need to sell some land in order to pay Hephthalite taxes.[134] Two documents were also found, with dates from the period from 492 to 527 CE, mentioning taxes paid to Hephthalite rulers. Another, undated documents, mentions scribal and judiciary functions under the Hephthalites:
Sartu, the son of Hwade-gang, the prosperous Yabghu of the Hepthalite people (ebodalo shabgo); Haru Rob, the scribe of the Hephthalite ruler (ebodalo eoaggo), the judge of Tokharistan and Gharchistan.
Territory of the Imperial Hephthalites and main Asian polities c. 500 CE
The Hephthalites conquered the territory of
Kobadiyan, are known to have sent embassies to China as late as 522 CE, while under Hephthalite control.[138] As early as 484, the famous Hephthalite ruler Akhshunwar, who defeated Peroz I, held a title that may be understood as Sogdian: "’xs’wnd’r" ("power-holder").[138]
The Hephthalites may have built major fortified
Panjikent, as they had also in Herat, continuing the city-building efforts of the Kidarites.[138] The Hephthalites probably ruled over a confederation of local rulers or governors, linked through alliance agreements. One of these vassals may have been Asbar, ruler of Vardanzi, who also minted his own coinage during the period.[139]
The wealth of the Sasanian ransoms and tributes may have been reinvested in Sogdia, possibly explaining the prosperity of the region from that time.
Sogdians to carry on the trade of silk and other luxury goods between the China Empire and the Sasanian Empire.[141]
Because of the Hephthalite occupation of Sogdia, the original coinage of Sogdia came to be flooded by the influx of Sasanian coins received as a tribute to the Hephthalites. This coinage then spread along the Silk Road.[137] The symbol of the Hephthalites appears on the residual coinage of Samarkand, probably as a consequence of the Hephthalite control of Sogdia, and becomes prominent in Sogdian coinage from 500 to 700 CE, including in the coinage of their indigenous successors the Ikhshids (642-755 CE), ending with the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana.[142][143]
The Hephthalites continued to occupy the Tarim Basin until the end of their Empire, circa 560 CE.[45][154]
As the territories ruled by the Hephthalites expanded into Central Asia and the Tarim Basin, the art of the Hephthalites, characterized by the clothing and hairstyles of the figures being represented, also came to be used in the areas they ruled, such as
art of Gandhara in some of the earliest paintings at the Kizil Caves, dated to circa 500 CE, is considered as a consequence of the political unification of the area between Bactria and Kucha under the Hephthalites.[157] Some words of the Tocharian languages may have been adopted from the Hephthalites in the 6th century CE.[158]
The early Turks of the First Turkic Khaganate then took control of the
Turfan and Kucha areas from around 560 CE, and, in alliance with the Sasanian Empire, became instrumental in the fall of the Hepthalite Empire.[159]
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, originally painted by Pei Ziye or the future Emperor Yuan of Liang while he was a Governor of the Province of Jingzhou as a young man between 526 and 539 CE,[160] and of which an 11th-century Song copy is preserved.[161][162][163] The text explains how small the country of the Hua was when they were still vassals of the Rouran Khaganate, and how they later moved to "Moxian", possibly referring to their occupation of Sogdia, and then conquered numerous neighbouring country, including the Sasanian Empire:[161][164][165][166][f]
The Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang mentions that no envoys from the Hephthalites came before 516 to the southern court, and it was only in that year that a Hephthalite King named Yilituo Yandai (姓厭帶名夷栗陁) sent an ambassador named Puduoda[] (蒲多达[], possibly a Buddhist name "Buddhadatta" or "Buddhadāsa").
Most of the ambassadors from Central Asia are shown wearing heavy beards and relatively long hair, but, in stark contrast, the Hephthalite ambassador, as well as the ambassador from Balkh, are clean-shaven and bare-headed, and their hair is cropped short.[172] These physical characteristics are also visible in many of the Central Asian seals of the period.[172]
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang with descriptions of each ambassador, led by the representative of the Hephthalites (far right), 526–539 CE Southern Liang painting. National Museum of China.[161]
Other embassies
Overall, Chinese chronicles recorded twenty-four Hephthalite embassies: the first embassy in 456, and the others from 507 to 558 CE (including fifteen to the
Zhoushu, which records that the Hepththalites had conquered Anxi, Yutian (Hotan region in Xinjiang) and more than twenty other countries, and that they sent embassies to the Chinese court of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou in 546, 553 and 558 CE respectively, after what the Hepthalites were "crushed by the Turks" and embassies stopped.[175]
The Hephthalites also requested and obtained a Christian bishop from the
The complex of the Buddhas of Bamiyan was developed under Hephthalite rule.[87][88][179] After the dissolution of their empire in 550-560, the Hephthalites continued to rule in the geographical areas corresponding to Tokharistan and today's northern Afghanistan,[1][180][181] and particularly held a series of castles on the roads to Bamiyan.[182] Carbon dating of the structural components of the Buddhas has determined that the smaller 38 m (125 ft) "Eastern Buddha" was built around 570 CE (544–595 CE with 95% probability), while the larger 55 m (180 ft) "Western Buddha" was built around 618 CE (591–644 CE with 95% probability).[85] This corresponds to the period soon before or after the major defeat of the Hephthalites against the combined forces of Western Turk and Sasanian Empire (557 CE), or the following period during which they regrouped south of the Oxus as Principalities, but essentially before the Western Turks finally overran the region to form the Tokhara Yabghus (625 CE).
Among the most famous paintings of the Buddhas of Bamyan, the ceiling of the smaller Eastern Buddha represents a solar deity on a chariot pulled by horses, as well as ceremonial scenes with royal figures and devotees.
Tokhara, boots, and is holding a lance, he is "The Sun God and a Golden Chariot Rising in Heaven".[183] His representation is derived from the iconography of the Iranian god Mithra, as revered in Sogdia.[183] He is riding a two-wheeled golden charriot, pulled by four horses.[183] Two winged attendants are standing to the side of the charriot, wearing a Corinthian helmet with a feather, and holding a shield.[183] In the top portion are wind gods, flying with a scarf held in both hands.[183] This great composition is unique, and has no equivalent in Gandhara or India, but there are some similarities with the painting of Kizil or Dunhuang.[183]
The central image of the Sun God on his golden chariot is framed by two lateral rows in individuals: Kings and dignitaries mingling with Buddhas and
The Tomb of Wirkak is the tomb of a 6th-century Sogdian trader established in China, and discovered in Xi'an.[188] It seems that depictions of Hephthalite rulers are omnipresent in the pictorial decorations of the tomb, as royal figures with elaborate Sasanian-type crowns appearing in their palaces, nomadic yurts or while hunting.[188] Hephthalites rulers are shown short-haired, wearing tunics, and are often depicted together with their female consort.[188] The Sogdian trader Wirkak may therefore have primarily dealt with the Hephthalites during his young years (he was around 60 when the Hephthalites were finally destroyed by the alliance of the Sasanians and the Turks between 556 and 560 CE).[189] The Hephthalites also appear in four panels of the Miho funerary couch (c.570 CE) with somewhat caricatural features, and characteristics of vassals to the Turks.[190] On the contrary, the depictions in the tombs of later Sogdian traders, such as the Tomb of An Jia (who was 24 years younger than Wirwak), already show the omnipresence of the Turks of the First Turkic Khaganate, who were probably his main trading partners during his active life.[189]
End of the Empire and fragmentation into Hephthalite Principalities (560–710 CE)
Tukharistan, Dardistan, and Kabulistan" as he ultimately defeated the Hephthalites with the help of the First Turkic Khaganate.[123]
In 552, the Göktürks took over Mongolia, formed the First Turkic Khaganate, and by 558 reached the Volga. Circa 555–567,[g] the Turks of the First Turkic Khaganate and the Sasanians under Khosrow I allied against the Hephthalites and defeated them after an eight-day battle near Qarshi, the Battle of Gol-Zarriun, perhaps in 557.[h][193]
These events put an end to the Hephthalite Empire, which fragmented into semi-independent Principalities, paying tribute to either the Sasanians or the Turks, depending on the military situation.
kurghan necropoli have been excavated all over the region, as well as a possible one in the Bamiyan valley.[197]
The Sasanians and Turks established a frontier for their zones of influence along the
Oxus river, and the Hephthalite Principalities functioned as buffer states between two Empires.[180] But when the Hephthalites chose Faghanish as their king in Chaganiyan, Khosrow I crossed the Oxus and put the Principalities of Chaghaniyan and Khuttal under tribute.[180]
Hephthalite signature in Sogdian and a Tamgha symbol
.
Circa 616/617 CE the
Persian Armenia and sent him to Iran to repel the invaders. Smbat, with the aid of a Persian prince named Datoyean, repelled the Hephthalites from Persia, and plundered their domains in eastern Khorasan, where Smbat is said to have killed their king in single combat. Khosrow then gave Smbat the honorific title Khosrow Shun ("the Joy or Satisfaction of Khosrow"), while his son Varaztirots II Bagratuni received the honorific name Javitean Khosrow ("Eternal Khosrow").[200]
From 625 CE, the territory of the Hephthalites from
Oxus river, in the area of Tokharistan and beyond, with some smaller polities surviving in the area of Badakhshan until 758 CE. Their legacy was extended to the southeast until the 9th century CE, with the Turk Shahis and the Zunbils
.
Arab invasion (c.651 CE)
Circa 650 CE, during the Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire, the Sasanian Empire ruler
Nezak Tarkan. The Hepthalite ruler of Badghis allied with the Marzban of Merv attack Yazdegerd and defeated him in 651.[204] Yazdegerd III barely escaped with his life but was murdered in the vicinity of Merv soon after, and the Arabs managed to capture the city of Merv the same year.[204]
In 652 CE, following the Siege of Herat (652) to which the Hephthalites participated, the Arabs captured the cities of northern Tokharistan, Balkh included, and the Hepthalites principalities were forced to pay tribute and accept Arab garrisons.[204] The Hephthalites again rebelled in 654 CE, leading to the Battle of Badghis.
In 659, Chinese chronicles still mentioned the "Hephtalite Tarkans" (悒達太汗 Yida Taihan, probably related to "
The city of Merv became the base of the Arabs for their Central Asian operations.[204] The Arabs weakened during the 4-year civil war leading to the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661, but they were able to continue their expansion after that.[204]
Hephthalite revolts against the Ummayad Caliphate (689–710 CE)
tamgha
. Circa 700 CE.
Circa 689 CE, the Hephthalite ruler of
Qutaiba ibn Muslim was able to re-establish Muslim control over Tokharistan and captured Nezak Tarkan who was executed on al-Hajjaj's orders, despite promises of pardon, while the Yabghu was exiled to Damascus and kept there as a hostage.[210][211][212]
In 718 CE, Chinese chronicles still mention the Hephthalites (悒達 Yida) as one of the polities under the suzerainty of the Turkic
Eastern Turkic khagan Bug-chor, i.e. Qapaghan Qaghan[213] Chinese chronicles report embassies from the "Hephtalite kingdom" as late as 748 CE.[205][214]
Military and weapons
Hunnish designs of rectangle or oval shapes with cloisonné ornamentation, and are dated to the 5th century CE.[215]
Gyerim-ro dagger
The Hephthalites were considered as a powerful military force.[216] Depending on sources, their main weapon was the bow, the mace or the sword.[216] Judging from their military achievements, they probably had a strong cavalry.[216] In Persia, according to the 6th century Armenian chronicler Lazar of P’arpec’i:
Even in time of peace the mere sight or mention of a Hephthalite terrified everybody, and there was no question of going to war openly against one, for everybody remembered all too clearly the calamities and defeats inflicted by the Hephthalites on the king of the Aryans and on the Persians.
"Hunnic" designs in weaponry are known to have influenced Sasanian designs during the 6th–7th century CE, just before Islamic invasions.
Khusro II (590–628 CE), and is thought to have been adopted from the Hepthalites.[144]
Swords with ornate cloisonné designs and two-straps suspensions, as found in the paintings of
Gyerim-ro dagger, found in a tomb in Korea, is a 5-6th century highly decorated dagger and scabbard of "Hunnic" two-straps suspension design, introduced by the Hephthalites in Central Asia.[219] The Gyerim-ro dagger is thought to have reached Korea either through trade or as a diplomatic gift.[220]
Sasanian sword and scabbard derived from "Hunnic" two-straps suspension designs, Sasanian Empire, 7th century CE.[217][144]
Religion and culture
Kakrak, a valley next to Bamyan is often presented as a result of Hephthalite influence, especially in reference to the "triple-crescent crown". Wall paintings from the 7th–8th century, Kabul Museum.[222][223]
They were said to practice polyandry and artificial cranial deformation. Chinese sources said they worshiped 'foreign gods', 'demons', the 'heaven god' or the 'fire god'. The Gokturks told the Byzantines that they had walled cities. Some Chinese sources said that they had no cities and lived in tents. Litvinsky tries to resolve this by saying that they were nomads who moved into the cities they had conquered. There were some government officials but central control was weak and local dynasties paid tribute.[224]
According to Song Yun, the Chinese Buddhist monk who visited the Hephthalite territory in 540 and "provides accurate accounts of the people, their clothing, the empresses and court procedures and traditions of the people and he states the Hephthalites did not recognize the Buddhist religion and they preached pseudo gods, and killed animals for their meat."[7] It is reported that some Hephthalites often destroyed Buddhist monasteries but these were rebuilt by others. According to Xuanzang, the third Chinese pilgrim who visited the same areas as Song Yun about 100 years later, the capital of Chaghaniyan had five monasteries.[62]
The triple-crescent crown in this Penjikent mural (top left corner), is considered as a Hephthalite marker. 7th-early 8th century.[225]
According to historian André Wink, "...in the Hephthalite dominion
Buddhist monasteries and 30,000 monks. Outside the town was a large Buddhist monastery, later known as Naubahar.[62]
There were
Badghis–Qadištan, the bishop of which, Gabriel, sent a delegate to the synod of Patriarch Ishoyahb I in 585.[226] It was probably placed under the metropolitan of Herat. The church's presence among the Hephthalites enabled them to expand their missionary work across the Oxus. In 591, some Hephthalites serving in the army of the rebel Bahram Chobin were captured by Khosrow II and sent to the Roman emperorMaurice as a diplomatic gift. They had Nestorian crosses tattooed on their foreheads.[10][227]
Hephthalite seals
Stamp seal with a bearded figure in Sasanian dress, wearing the kulāf denoting nobility and officials; and a figure with radiate crown,[i] both with royal ribbons. Attributed to the Hephthalites,[229] and recently dated to the 5th–6th century CE.[230] According to earlier sources, Bivar (1969) and Livshits (1969), repeated by the British Museum, the seal was dated to the 300–350 CE.[231][232]Stamp seal (BM 119999), British Museum.
Several seals found in Bactria and Sogdia have been attributed to the Hephthalites.
The "
Bactrian script title "Ebodalo Yabghu" ( ηβοδαλο ββγο, "The Lord of the Hephthalites"), and has been dated to the end of the 5th century-early 6th century CE.[3][27][34] This important seal was published by Judith A. Lerner and Nicholas Sims-Williams in 2011.[233]
Kushano-Sasanians,[231][234] but has been more recently attributed to the Hephthalites,[229] and dated to the 5th–6th century CE.[230] Paleographically, the seal can be attributed to the 4th century or first half of the 5th century.[235]
The "Seal of Khingila" shows a beardless ruler with radiate crown and royal ribbons, wearing a single-lapel caftan, in the name of Eškiŋgil (εϸχιγγιλο), which could correspond to one of the rulers named Khingila (χιγγιλο), or may be a Hunnic title meaning "Companion of the Sword", or even "Companion of the God of War".[236][237]
Local populations under the Hephthalites
The Hephthalites governed a confederation of various people, many of whom were probably of Iranian descent, speaking an Iranian language.
Western Turkestan during the period to around several hundreds of thousands each, while the major oasis of the Tarim Basin are more likely to have had populations ranging in the tens of thousands each.[239]
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang
, 11th century Song copy. He accompanied the Hephthalite ambassador to China.
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang
, 11th century Song copy.
Ambassador from
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang
, 11th century Song copy.
Ambassadors from
The Gathering of Kings
(王会图), circa 650 CE
The Alchon Huns (formerly considered as a branch of the Hephthalites) in South Asia
Find spots of epigraphic inscriptions (red dots) indicating local control by the Alchon Huns in India between 500–530 CE.[240]
The
Oxus basin in Central Asia and established their control over Gandhara in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent by about 465 CE.[246] From there, they fanned out into various parts of northern, western, and central India
A number of groups may have descended from the Hephthalites.[253][254]
Avars: suggestions have been made that the Pannonian Avars were Hepthalites who went to Europe after their collapse in 557 CE, but this is not adequately supported by archaeological or written sources.[255]
Pashtuns: The Hephthalites may have contributed to the ethnogenesis of Pashtuns. Yu. V. Gankovsky, a Soviet historian on Afghanistan, stated: "Pashtun began as a union of largely East Iranian tribes, which became the initial ethnic stratum of the Pashtun ethnogenesis dating from the middle of the first millennium CE, and is connected with the dissolution of the Hephthalite confederacy."[256] According to The Cambridge History of Iran the descendants of Hephthalites are Pashtuns.[257]
Durrani: The Durrani Pashtuns of Afghanistan were called "Abdali" before 1747. According to linguist Georg Morgenstierne, their tribal name Abdālī may have "something to do with" the Hephthalite.[258] This hypothesis was endorsed by historian Aydogdy Kurbanov, who indicated that after the collapse of the Hephthalite confederacy, they likely assimilated into different local populations and that the Abdali may be one of the tribes of Hephthalite origin.[8]
Hephthalite model, imitating Sasanian king Peroz I (438-457).[259][260]
Khalaj: The Khalaj people are first mentioned in the 7th–9th centuries in the area of Ghazni, Qalati Ghilji, and Zabulistan in present-day Afghanistan. They spoke Khalaj Turkic. Al-Khwarizmi mentioned them as a remnant tribe of the Hephthalites. However, according to linguist Sims-Williams, archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that the Khalaj were the Hephthalites' successors,[261] while according to historian V. Minorsky, the Khalaj were "perhaps only politically associated with the Hephthalites." Some of the Khalaj were later Pashtunized, after which they transformed into the Pashtun Ghilji tribe.[262]
Kanjina: a Saka tribe linked to the
al-Khwarizmi called them "Kanjina Turks". However, Bosworth and Clauson contended that al-Khwarizmi was simply using "Turks" "in the vague and inaccurate sense".[265]
Karluks: (or Qarlughids) were reported as settled in Ghazni and Zabulistan, present-day Afghanistan, in the thirteenth century. Many Muslim geographers identified "Karluks" Khallukh ~ Kharlukh with "Khalajes" Khalaj from confusion, as the two names were similar and these two groups dwelt near each other.[266][267]
Abdal is a name associated with the Hephthalites. It is an alternate name for the Äynu people.
^de la Vaissière proposes underlying Turkic Yeti-Al, later translated to Iranian Haft-Al
^de la Vaissière also cited Sims-Williams, who noted that the initial η- ē of the Bactrian form ηβοδαλο Ēbodālo precluded etymology based on Iranian haft and consequently hypothetical underlying Turkicyeti "seven"
^Similar crowns are known in other seals such as the seal of "Kedīr, the hazāruxt" ("Kedir the Chiliarch"), dated by Sims-Williams to the last quarter of the 5th century CE from the paleography of the inscription.[32] Reference for the exact datation: Sundermann, Hintze & de Blois (2009), p. 218, note 14
^de la Vaissière (2012) pointed out that "[a] recently published seal gives the title of a fifth-century lord of Samarkand as 'king of the Oglar Huns.'"[70] (βαγο ογλαρ(γ)ο – υονανο). See the seal and this reading of the inscription in Hans Bakker (2020: 13, note 17), referencing from Sim-Williams (2011: 72-74).[71] "Oglar" is thought to derive from the Turk oǧul-lar > oǧlar "sons; princes" plus an Iranian adjective suffix -g.[72] Alternatively, and less likely, "Oglarg" could correspond to "Walkon", and thus the Alchon Huns, although the seal is closer to Kidarites coin types.[72] Another seal found in the Kashmir reads "ολαρ(γ)ο" (seal AA2.3).[71] The Kashmir seal was published by Grenet, ur Rahman, and Sims-Williams (2006:125-127) who compared ολαργο Ularg on the seal to the ethnonym οιλαργανο "people of Wilarg" attested in a Bactrian document written in 629 CE.[73] The style of the sealings is related to the Kidarites, and the title "Kushanshah" is known to have disappeared with the Kidarites.[74]
^ abSee another example (with coin description).[120]
^quote: "Sept Aryas". Tremblay X., "Pour une histoire de la Sérinde. Le manichéisme parmi les peuples et religions d’Asie Centrale d’après les sources primaires, Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Iranistik, 28, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademieder Wissenschaften, Vienne 2001, 185; cited in Étienne de la Vaissière, "Theophylact's Turkish Exkurs Revisited" in De Samarcande à Istanbul: étapes orientales . Hommages à Pierre ChuvinII, Paris, CNRS Editions, 2015, p. 93-94 of pp. 91-102
^ abcdRezakhani 2017a, p. 208. "A seal bearing the legend ηβοδαλο ββγο, "Yabghu/governor of the Hephthal," shows the local, Bactrian form of their name, ēbodāl, which is commonly abbreviated to ηβ on their coins"
^Enoki, K. (December 1970). "The Liang shih-kung-t'u on the origin and migration of the Hua or Ephthalites". Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia. 7 (1–2): 37–45.
^Rezakhani 2017, p. 135. "The suggestion that the Hephthalites were originally of Turkic origin and only later adopted Bactrian as their administrative, and possibly native, language (de la Vaissière 2007: 122) seems to be most prominent at present."
^Rezakhani 2017, p. 135. "The suggestion that the Hephthalites were originally of Turkic origin and only later adopted Bactrian as their administrative, and possibly native, language (de la Vaissière 2007: 122) seems to be most prominent at present."
. In 2005, Étienne de la Vaissière, in a seminal article, used some new or little-known sources to argue that the Xiongnu had in fact called themselves "Huns," and that after the dissolution of their empire a considerable part of the northern Xiongnu remained in the Altai region. In the middle of the fourth century, two large groups of Huns departed from there, one southward to the lands north of Persia (Kidarites, Alkhan, Hephthalites) and the other one westward to Europe. Although based on limited sources, the contention that the imperial and post-imperial Xiongnu, the Hunnic dynasties north and east of the Sasanians, and the European Huns are directly linked is well argued.
on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2020. Eastern Buddha: 549 AD – 579 AD (1 σ range, 68.2% probability) 544 AD – 595 AD (2 σ range, 95.4% probability). Western Buddha: 605 AD – 633 AD (1 σ range, 68.2%) 591 AD – 644 AD (2 σ range, 95.4% probability).
Tukharistan
, that survived the downfall of Hephthalite power in 557 AD.
Xin Tangshu vol. 217a txt: "回紇，其先匈奴也，俗多乘高輪車，元魏時亦號高車部，或曰敕勒，訛為鐵勒。" tr: "Uyghurs, their predecessors were the Xiongnu. Because, customarily, they ride high-wheeled carts. In Yuan Wei
time, they were also called Gaoju (i.e. High-Cart) tribe. Or called Chile, or mistakenly as Tiele."
txt: "高車，蓋古赤狄之餘種也，[...] 諸夏以為高車丁零。" tr: "Gaoju, probably the remnant stock of the ancient Red Di. [...] The various Xia (i.e. Chinese) considered them Gaoju Dingling (i.e. Dingling with High Cart)"
^Cheng, Fanyi. "The Research on the Identification between the Tiele (鐵勒) and the Oğuric tribes" in Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi ed. Th. T. Allsen, P. B. Golden, R. K. Kovalev, A. P. Martinez. 19 (2012). Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden. p. 87
^Lee, Joo-Yup; Kuang, Shuntu (2017). "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples". Inner Asia. (19): p. 199-201 of pp. 197-239
^Weishu, vol. 103 txt: "高車，[...] 其語略與匈奴同而時有小異，或云其先匈奴之甥也", tr: "The Gaoju, [...] their language and the Xiongnu's are similar though differ a little; or to say it differently, they are the sororal nephews/sons-in-laws of their Xiongnu predecessors"
^Kageyama 2016, p. 200. "Il’yasov's article references figurines wearing caftans with triangular-shaped collars on the right side. This is believed to be a style of garment that became popular in Central Asia under Hephthalite rule"
^Grousset, René (1970). The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia. Translated by Naomi Walford. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. p. 67.
^ abcAdylov & Mirzaahmedov 2006, p. 36. "The third incursion cost him his own life and his camp was captured together with his daughter who was taken as a wife by the Hephtalite king Kun-khi"
^de la Vaissière 2012, pp. 144–160. "Sogdiana under its nomadic elites became the principal center of agricultural wealth and population in Central Asia." and paragraph on "The Shift of the Trade Routes"
^Kageyama 2016, p. 200. Kageyama quoting the research of S. Hiyama, "Study on the first-style murals of Kucha: analysis of some motifs related to the Hephthalite's period”
^Balogh 2020, p. 47. "When the Suolu (Northern Wei) entered (the Chinese frontier) and settled in the (valley of the river) Sanggan (i.e. in the period 398–494 CE), the Hua was still a small country and under the rule of the Ruirui. In the Qi period (479–502 CE), they left (their original area) for the first time and shifted to Moxian (possibly Samarkand), where they settled."
^Kurbanov 2010, p. 67. "Seizing large areas, the Hephthalites met with various kinds of art and of course, to some extent, acted as intermediary in the transfer of artistic traditions of one nation to another. It is here, in the opinion of Albaum, that the similarity of some of the figures in paintings from Balalyk-tepe and those from Bamiyan must be sought, which then was part of the Hephthalite state. Such similarities are exemplified by the right side triangular lapel, hair accessories and some ornamental motifs."
Tukharestan
that survived the downfall of Hephthalite power in A.D. 577
. Along with other Central Asian nomadic nations, the Hephthalites practices kurghan burial, and extensive Hephthalite necropoli have been excavated in Afghanistan at Sadiqabad near Charikar and Shakh Tepe near Qunduz. A kurghan necropolis has also been recorded in the Bamiyan Valley which, by association with the Bamiyan monuments, might also be Hephthalite ( or Yabghu ) (Note 25 See Levi 1972 69-70. It is surprising that in view of the importance of these tumulus burials and their possible association with Hephthalites in the Bamiyan Valley - they have gone unremarked in all the main authorities on Bamiyan, e.g., Klimburg - Salter 1989).
^Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2011). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. I.B. Tauris. p. 139.
^ abcdGrenet, F. "NĒZAK". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Citing Tangshu XLIII, B, pp. 6–9 and Chavannes, Documents, p. 69, n. 2{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Kageyama 2016, p. 200. "Its scabbard is beautifully decorated with cloisonné and has a trapezoidal shape that widens at the end. The same dagger style is found in Kazakhstan, and similar works also appear in paintings from Pendzhikent and Kizil as well as Sogdian funerary reliefs from Anyang19. These highly decorated works may be more elaborate versions of the dagger with two suspension mounts produced under Hephthalite influence."
^Erica C. D. Hunter (1996), "The Church of the East in Central Asia", Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester78(3): 129–142, at 133–134.
^Mehmet Tezcan (2020). "On 'Nestorian' Christianity Among the Hephthalites or the White Huns". In Li Tang & Dietmar W. Winkler (eds.). Artifact, Text, Context: Studies on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia. Lit Verlag. pp. 195–212.
^Kurbanov 2010, p. 320. "A cornelian in the British museum, showing two facing busts with an inscription written in Ancient Sogdian of the period AD 300–350 and which was the seal of Indamīč, Queen of Začanta"
empires were confederations of many peoples, we may tentatively propose that the ruling groups of these invaders were, or at least included, Turkic-speaking tribesmen from the east and north, although most probably the bulk of the people in the confederation of Chionites and then Hephhtalites spoke an Iranian language. In this case, as normal, the nomads adopted the written language, institutions and culture of the settled folks."
^Bosworth, C.E. (1981). "The Rulers of Chaghāniyān in Early Islamic Times". Iran. Vol. 19. p. 20.
^Bosworth, C.E.; Clauson, Gerard (1965). "Al-Xwārazmī on the Peoples of Central Asia". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1/2): 8–9.
Dani, A.H.; Litvinsky, B.A.; Zamir Safi, M.H. "Eastern Kushans, Kidarites in Gandhara and Kashmir, and Later Hephthalites". In Litvinsky, Guang-da & Samghabadi (1996), pp. 163–184.
Decker, Michael J. (2022). The Sasanian Empire at War: Persia, Rome, and the Rise of Islam, 224–651. Westholme Publishing.
Frye, Richard N. (2002). "Pre-Islamic and early Islamic cultures". In Canfield, Robert L. (ed.). Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
Härtel, Herbert; Yaldiz, Marianne (1982). Laing, M. E. D. (ed.). Along the Ancient Silk Routes: Central Asian Art from the West Berlin State Museums. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Litvinsky, B.A.; Guang-da, Zhang; Samghabadi, R. Shabani, eds. (1996). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Paris: UNESCO.
Zeimal, E.V. (1994). "The Circulation of Coins in Central Asia during the Early Medieval Period (Fifth–Eighth Centuries A.D.)". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 8: 245–267.
Grignaschi, M. (1980). "La Chute De L'Empire Hephthalite Dans Les Sources Byzantines et Perses et Le Probleme Des Avar". Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungarica. 28. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado.
Haussig, Hans Wilhelm (1983). Die Geschichte Zentralasiens und der Seidenstraße in vorislamischer Zeit. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
The Hephthalites at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 February 2005) Article archived from the University of Washington's Silk Road exhibition – has a slightly adapted form of the Richard Heli timeline.
(pdf) The Ethnonym Apar in the Turkish Inscriptions of the VIII. Century and Armenian Manuscripts – Mehmet Tezcan
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